IDOL RECAP: And Then There Were Two

Well, we only have a few more hours left before American Idol ends its eight season and a new victor is crowned. Who will it be? The odds on favorite is Adam Lambert, the squealing costume factory who has earned almost unmitigated praise from the judges all season. However, sneaky Kris Allen could wind up pulling an upset, à la David Cook who persevered last year almost in response to all the unrelenting hype afforded to his rival, David Archuletta. On last night’s final performance show, Simon Cowel & Co. were careful to keep their remarks opinionated but not over the top in any one direction — perhaps to save themselves the embarrassment of calling the show for one contestant and having the other win (as is what happened last year). Still, reading between the lines, it’s clear that the group was pulling for Lambert. The judges festooned him with words like “superstar” and “one of the best we’ve ever had.” Kris Allen, on the other hand, received some high praise, but it all sounded very conciliatory — as if he’d already gone as far as he could go. Might the judges be right? Possibly. It’ll be hard to stop the Lambert Express. But then there are all these theories that that Gokey votes might shift to Kris and, well, who knows what might happen. All we can base anything on is the singing, and of course I have many comments about that.

Kicking off the show was Adam, who was given the task to re-sing one of his favorite performances of the season. He went with “Mad World,” by Tears for Fears, a song that got cut off by many people’s Tivos when he first tooted it out in April. When Adam initially sang the tune back then, I was impressed. I didn’t think it was as strong as his cover of “Tracks of My Tears,” but it was very good. This time around, it lost a lot of its magic. I can’t quite put a finger on it. The judges suggested that it became slightly too theatrical (and with smoke floating across the stage and Adam’s Matrix trench coat flowing by his feet, I’d tend to agree). More importantly, however, was that the performance lost its element of surprise. It no longer seemed novel and exciting (although, to be fair, the Donnie Darko version on which this one was based still continues to haunt). Point is, Adam lost a bit of the emotional connection to the song this time around, and as a result, the entire thing felt a bit boring.
Kris, meanwhile, opted to revisit “Ain’t No Sunshine,” a choice that I doubted at first. Why not sing “Heartless” again? Or that song from Once? Or “She Works Hard For The Money?” Luckily, it all worked out just fine because Kris truly nailed his performance. I don’t remember his first rendition of it terribly well, but I’m sure it didn’t match up to this one. He injected the song with the sort of heart and emotion that truly elevates an experience, and surprisingly, the judges actually gave him props for it this time. Kara was out of control, doing her usual emphatic proclamations punctuated with finger pointing and eventually climaxing with her falling back into the seat of her chair. Even Simon was impressed and called the first round for Kris. Amazing. Who would have thought the judges would be able to see past their devotion to Lambert?
Round two, however, was a different story. The creator of the show, Simon Fuller, selected tunes for the finalists to sing (usually Clive Davis does this. Don’t know where he went). Adam returned to the stage to sing Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and I have to admit, Adam totally nailed it. His squealing caterwauls and banshee screams actually complimented the song, and although it’s late the game, I think the discovery here is that Adam really is a gospel blues singer at heart, not a rocker (well, everyone knows he’s not really a rocker). Adam truly was great, and he left everything out there on the stage. Paula, who was dressed like a shiny piece of lettuce, went nuts, and across the board, all the judges called it a home run.
It would be hard to follow such a performance, and sure enough, Kris paled in comparison. To be fair, his song “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye simply doesn’t have the show-stopping elements that “A Change Is Gonna Come” has. I mean, let’s not forget that even Syesha sounded awesome when she sang the Sam Cooke classic last season. For “What’s Going On” to have the same resonant power, there would have to be a very dramatic overhaul of the arrangement — which, to be fair, Kris should have done. Nevertheless, he sang a very nice version of it, and I thought he sounded great, and I liked it very much, but I had to side with Simon on this one: round two went to Lambert.
Finally, Adam took the stage for his third and final song, “No Boundaries,” which both singers would be attempting. It was a schlocky piece of music written by Kara and whoever wins tonight will be releasing it as a single. This is not good news because both guys pretty much sucked at it. For years, the producers foist these horrible, inspirational ballads onto the finalists, and for years, they’ve always struggled. Why? Well, I think it’s nearly impossible to inject anything into such a shallow song (especially this one, which seemed to have no hook). The good news is that Kara’s tune didn’t come with the obligatory gospel choir strolling in from the wings, but it did feature two elements that effectively tripped up both finalists.
For Adam, we finally discovered his biggest weakness (beyond self-control). He’s totally unable to sing at high tempos. With his booming screetches, he needs time to let each one breathe and grow, but the accelerated pace of the lyrics on this final song didn’t afford him that luxury. Adam frequently sounded breathless and even out of tune. Everything was wrong about it, and he seemed truly out of his element for the first time.
Thankfully, Randy kept it real by asserting this point, but the other judges praised Adam anyway, saying how wonderful and exciting he was. Simon mocked “No Boundaries slightly before announcing that he would not be judging the song but judging Adam. He then proceeded to not judge Adam but instead bestow praise on him as an artist, essentially calling him a superstar.
Kris then finished out the show with his version of “No Boundaries,” and while the song’s genre was better suited to his style and image, the poor kid simply could not hit all the notes. It was entirely too high, and for the first time since “Man in the Mirror,” he seemed to be totally uncomfortable and straining. It was not good. The judges amazingly were fairly soft on him, blaming the song’s key and not Kris for the bad notes. They were overall complimentary to him for what he’d done on the show, but again, they spoke to him as if he’d already lost, especially Simon, who I feared would tear Kris apart for his performance but didn’t (I was all ready to complain about bias, what with the way he let Lambert off so easily. Turns out he let Kris off easily too).
So now here we are. The votes are in, and we just have to wait. Who do you think was better? Who do you think will be the next American Idol? And how uncomfortable did Suri look in Katie Holmes’s arms?